Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an assembly of a universal joint member and a shaft for torque transmission to or from the universal joint member, the shaft being of a construction which includes a plurality of radially superimposed annular layers of material, as distinct from being homogeneous, the shaft and universal joint member being secured together by an adhesive bond established between them.
The invention has been developed in relation to a shaft, for example a motor vehicle transmission shaft, which is of fibre reinforced synthetic resin material. Typically such a shaft may be made by applying a plurality of layers of fibres, e.g. glass and/or carbon fibres, to a mandrel, impregnating the fibres with the desired resin, and subjecting the assembly to treatment to cure the resin and form a solid matrix in which the fibres are set, the fibres usually being applied to the mandrel in layers of different helix angles in order to give the finished shaft the desired mechanical properties. It has been proposed hitherto to secure a universal joint member to such a shaft by inserting a spigot on the universal joint member into the shaft and introducing an adhesive substance which can subsequently be cured to establish the torque transmitting connection between the universal joint member and shaft. However, with such a construction a possible mode of failure of the assembly is that of disruption of the shaft structure between its different fibre layers in the region of the universal joint connection, and it is the object of the present invention to overcome or reduce this disadvantage.